


Let Go

by Dragonlingdar



Category: Fire Emblem Series, Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: F/M, Gentle Kissing, Mutual Pining, Post-Canon, Spoilers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-31
Updated: 2020-01-31
Packaged: 2021-02-27 13:41:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,752
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22488091
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dragonlingdar/pseuds/Dragonlingdar
Summary: There was somethingspecialabout Byleth that drew Alois in, even though he knew he had to let go.
Relationships: My Unit | Byleth/Alois Rangeld
Kudos: 13





	Let Go

**Author's Note:**

> As a disclaimer, I have played only the Church Route.
> 
> Alois and Byleth's endgame scene was super bittersweet and you could _tell_ there was attraction there, but, like, Alois is a Good Person and I like to think that Byleth wouldn't be a homewrecker. Still, because there was that strongly hinted yearning, I had to expand on the scene.
> 
> So, a lot of the dialogue comes from the cut-scene, although I have added some things before and after the scene itself.
> 
> This is **female** Byleth.
> 
> As always, nothing belongs to me.

When Alois first met Byleth, he saw Jeralt’s daughter--and, thus, a daughter to him. He learned to read her subtle expressions, and delighted in the quiet laughter in her eyes each time he told a particularly awful pun. She was more relaxed in his presence, less guarded; he cherished those moments, and hoped that, one day, his own daughter would regard him with such amused exasperation.

When Jeralt passed, Alois watched her grieve, and saw a sister. He stood beside her in her pained silences and held her the few times she had cried in his presence. He did his best to prop her up until she could get fully back on her feet, and caught her the few times she stumbled--although he never told anyone. She had an image to maintain, students to guide. Those moments stayed between them, and he held them close to his heart.

However, when she ascended to rule a united Fódlan, he saw neither daughter nor sister, but a woman--and  _ that _ was terrifying. He loved his wife and daughter deeply, and rejoiced every time he had the chance to see them, but Byleth...she was something special, and something that he knew he could never have. He would  _ never _ hurt his wife that way, and wouldn’t have Byleth be his other woman. It was everything or nothing, and he had already promised his everything to another, so nothing it would have to be.

She was still far too tempting, and the quiet moments between them when they were alone in her office, Seteth off running one errand or another for her, were torture. 

Alois was taking a leisurely lap around the monastery to find her--she had escaped her office early and Seteth had given him pointed orders regarding her location and safety--when he stumbled upon her where he least expected: the Goddess Tower. She was watching the day fade, her breathing slow and even, her posture relaxed. The sunlight caressed the curves of her face, reflected off of her armor, and her light coloration had her almost glowing herself. She was breathtaking, and Alois hated how much he yearned for her. Regardless of her seeming immortality--at least, according to Seteth she would live for centuries--she was still young in terms of experience, and he was advancing towards sixty. And was married. They would never work, no matter how often Alois caught himself fantasizing about something deeper between them.

_ I’ll come back later, when it’s darker and I will have a harder time seeing how beautiful she is, _ Alois decided, but plate armor was far from quiet, and him moving to leave caught her attention. She turned to him and gave him a gentle smile, a familiar warmth in her eyes that always made his insides squirm. 

_ Oh well, _ he thought, and steeled himself, approaching her with a smile.

“Hey, what’re you doing here? Waiting for someone?”

“I was waiting for you,” she said, her voice low, soft, and melodious.

“Aha! You’ve got a knack for rib-ticklers, no bones about it. We weren’t planning to meet up,” he responded, reaching for puns in a desperate attempt to not read into what she said, particularly given where they were. “Anyway, things seem to have quieted down across all of Fodlan. But, we can’t slow down now! The work’s only just begun! In fact, we’ll probably be busier than ever.”

_ Please, goddess, let that be the case, _ Alois distantly thought.  _ Anything so as to not be alone with her...even if that prospect kills me. _

He wasn’t counting on the warmth in her eyes becoming brighter, impassioned. 

“Let’s get started!” she responded, doing her endearing first-pump of determination.

“Agreed! I’ll always be here to support you,” Alois said with a smile. “But, when we’ve got a little breathing room, I’d like to go fishing with you. We can sit by the water together and idly cast our lines, not a care in the world...”

_ No, what are you saying? _ Alois scolded himself as Byleth tilted her head in amused consideration.  _ You  _ don’t _ want to spend time alone with her! _

“Ah, ahem. It occurs to me. Were you really waiting for someone? A little rendezvous perhaps?” Alois asked in spite of himself when the silence stretched on too long. Perhaps, if she said she was, if she indicated she was interested in  _ someone _ else, he could dislodge the simmering yearning and go back to treating her like...something other than a beautiful, powerful, infatuating woman.

“Actually, yes,” she said, not quite looking at him.

“Ooh! So, who is then? Someone I know? It is, isn’t it?” Alois asked, surprised at the jealousy that rose within him. She was  _ supposed _ to like someone else, he  _ wanted _ her to want someone else, he had no right to be jealous!

“Captain Jeralt, listen up! I’ll ensure that your daughter is matched with none but the worthiest partner!” Alois snapped at the metaphorical ghost of his former Captain, trying to use  _ him _ as a way to guilt himself into not caring. After all, what would the man think of him, Alois, being in a relationship with his daughter?

“You’re acting strange,” Byleth said, the tiny upturn of her lips laughing more loudly than if she had actually vocalized one.

“I’m sorry,” Alois muttered, looking away from Byleth. “It’s just, when it comes to your life, I get emotional, you know? You’ve...you’ve done so well. You’ve persisted through so many obstacles, and you just kept on fighting.” He finally had the courage to look back at her and continued: “I have no doubt that Captain Jeralt’s looking down proudly from heaven right now. And, of course, I’m proud of you too. I’m a very proud...big brother.”

The last two words were forced out in desperation, since Byleth had closed the distance between them, and he wanted to remind her what they were, remind her that they couldn’t be anything more...even if it had grown steadily more apparent as the days passed that she was looking for something  _ more _ from him.

“Cut it out with the ‘big brother’ thing,” she chided. 

_ “You’re lying and we both know it,” _ was what her tone said.

“You could have let that one slide…” Alois said, looking away from her and to the sunset. “At any rate, let’s keep marching forward, together. For Fódlan! For the Captain!”

“I know I can count on you,” she said and reached out slowly, obviously giving him plenty of time to pull away. However, he was rooted to his spot, and she slowly intertwined their fingers.

“Of course you can count on me!” Alois said with a smile, the summer heat suddenly bearable even in full armor. “As long as I live, I’ll be your most faithful ally,” Alois continued, and couldn’t help but gently squeeze her fingers in reassurance.

“I need faithful allies,” she admitted, stepping in even closer. “Peace is far more challenging than war. You promise that you will stay by my side?”

Alois swallowed hard. “Of course! I doubt you’d be able to get rid of me. I’m devoted to you. Devoted to your cause, that is.”

Byleth took Alois’ other hand in hers and said, “I love you, Alois.”

_ Well, that’s that, I suppose, _ Alois thought, and he scrambled to find something to say,  _ anything  _ to say that weren’t the words ‘I love you, too,’ or some variation of them.

“I can’t see you as a brother or a father,” she continued in the face of his silence. “I don’t see the Captain of the Knights of Seiros. I see a man who has stood by my side battle after battle. I see someone compassionate and earnest. I see a man whose first instinct is to charge forward, to offer a hand in help...or a shoulder to cry on.”

“I...thank you,” Alois eventually managed. “I think that’s the most I’ve ever heard you speak.”

The tiny smile returned and she stepped in just a little closer, holding his hands close to her heart. “Can I ask one thing of you?”

“Anything,” Alois answered, his mouth moving far faster than his brain.

“Let me have one kiss with you,” she said. “And then I will leave you alone.”

“A...kiss?” Alois repeated, overwhelmed by a thousand different emotions. “On the cheek, right?”

Byleth shook her head slowly, her hair swaying softly in the motion and slipping over her shoulders, drawing his eyes to the ornament on her chest and--

_ Stop right there, _ he told himself and looked away, making the mistake of catching her eyes.

“One kiss,” she said, her eyes caressing his soul. “On my lips. And then I’ll stop. I’ll let go, even if I don’t want to, so that you can let go...even if you don’t want to.”

“Is it that obvious?”

“You wear your heart on your sleeve,” she said. “And that is part of your charm.”

“I...well, that’s good, I suppose. That you like that, because I don’t know how to be otherwise.”

Her eyes were soft, and Alois could only gaze back in silent wonder at the woman who had somehow captured his heart. 

She stepped in just a little bit more, their hands caught between their bodies, and gave him an expectant look, and he just  _ knew _ that he was blushing.

“Just one,” he eventually whispered. “And then we let go.”

“And then we let go,” Byleth agreed. 

Alois leaned down slightly, hesitated, then leaned down further, Byleth stretching up a little on tip-toe in order to meet him. It wasn’t a  _ passionate _ kiss by any means; it was gentle and chaste. The pleasure was softer, and dripped down his spine, making his skin prickle. The tenderness in the contact, how she didn’t push him, made breaking the kiss a struggle, and refraining from a follow-up kiss was nearly impossible.

Still, she had said only one. And then they would both let go.

She nevertheless lingered in his personal space, and they breathed in time, savoring the recent memory. She eventually lowered herself back down, and he pulled away; her smile was soft and bittersweet. 

“Thank you, Alois,” she murmured and stepped back, her hands gradually slipping out of Alois’. “Time to get to work.”

Alois took a deep breath, sighed heavily, then nodded. “Yes. There’s certainly a lot of work to be done!”

“To build a future for Fódlan,” she said resolutely.

_ To build a future for you.  _


End file.
